Can you identify what's in this photo?
Each Wednesday morning
on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page
the Lutherlyn Environmental
Education Program posts a photo.
Readers
have all morning and afternoon
to
make their best guess about what the photo is.
Around
6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.
Each
week's What is it Wednesday post
will
also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog,
after it is posted on Facebook,
sometimes
with additional bonus information.
In
addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday
on the
Nature of Lutherlyn blog,
we
will be reposting old editions,
creating
a What is it Wednesday archive.
This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on
September 9, 2020.
And
the answer is....
We had a similar-looking What is it Wednesday feature almost exactly a year ago that never made it onto the blog – but that insect was a thread-legged bug, often mistaken for a walkingstick.
Today's feature is the real walkingstick. A walkingstick is larger and thicker than a thread-legged bug, and though they look alike they are not related.
I forgot to include a size reference in the walkingstick photo, but went back and measured the small tree it is on – the tree is about 2 inches in diameter, which makes the walkingstick about 4 inches long head to tail, not including antennae. The thread-legged bug looks to be about 2 inches long, based on how much space it takes up on my hand. These are about the maximum size for both these insects.
Another major difference between the two is that walkingsticks are herbivores who eat mostly the leaves of plants, while thread-legged bugs are members of the assassin bug family and are carnivores who eat other insects.
Both insects, however, make use of their long spindly body and
limbs to camouflage themselves on tree branches. While both extend their front
legs in a way that sometimes makes it difficult to recognize them as legs, the thread-legged
bug uses the legs to grasp in a way that walkingsticks rarely do.
Keep an eye on the small details of the world around you, and you may be lucky enough to spot a fascinating camouflaged critter!
Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!
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